


Permission to Sleep With You

by CosmicMind



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Cuddling, Deaf Soldier, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 09:21:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14871068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicMind/pseuds/CosmicMind
Summary: Soldier asks Demoman to sleep with him and they talk for a while.





	Permission to Sleep With You

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this when I was supposed to be packing for a five-day trip. Oops
> 
> Also this takes place in the same universe (and is a soft sequel) to my other fic, _[The Way to a Mann's Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628517/chapters/31294389)_ , so Soldier is deaf in this.

“Permission to sleep with you, comrade,” was a question Demoman didn’t expect Soldier to ask as he opened his bedroom door that night. Demoman felt his face get hot very, very quickly and he scratched the back of his neck.

 

“D-Dontcha wannae buy me dinner first, lad?” he asked, laughing nervously, “I mean, I know yer blunt, but… are ye sure?”

 

Soldier cocked his helmetless head. “Dinner?” he said, “Negative! We already had our evening meal. It is time to sleep.”

 

Once again, Soldier’s inability with understanding certain expressions or the cultural meaning behind his blunt wording was a bit adorable. “Oh, ya mean _actually_ sleep,” he chuckled, stepping out of the way, “Right this way, mate. Don’ mind tha mess.”

 

It wasn’t until Soldier promptly stepped inside that Demoman’s brain fully processed the implications of Soldier’s question. They had been in… some sort of relationship for the past several months, or at least, Demoman thought so. Demoman had placed kisses on Soldier’s face dozens of times away from the rest of the team, and Soldier never protested.

 

But Soldier was always not one for showing affection. Even just light touches like a pat on the shoulder from a team mate made the mercenary tense, and it was no different for Demoman. Sure, he had made much progress since his contract began, but Soldier still didn’t like being touched. He never went in for his own kisses, much less want to talk about if they were in a relationship.

 

That was fine for Demoman; he could wait for Soldier no matter how long it took. Saying that he wasn’t absolutely craving the physical intimacy from someone he loved would be a lie. But Demoman was a DeGroot, through and through. Whatever made Soldier comfortable made him happy. That’s why this sudden request caught Demoman so off guard.

 

“So ye… actually wanna sleep with me tonight?” Demoman inquired, “Like, in tha same bed ‘n everythin’?”

 

“Affirmative,” Soldier confirmed with a nod.

 

“Any reason, or ye just feel like it?”

 

“I just feel like it.”

 

“We’re gunnae be touchin’, ya know.”

 

“I… I understand.”

 

Demoman stepped towards Soldier and cautiously put a hand on his arm, rubbing lightly with his thumb. “Jane,” he said, “I need ta know if yer okay with this. I dunnae wannae make ye uncomfortable.”

 

Soldier hesitated but nodded and put on his best determined face. “Ha! The only thing that makes _me_ ‘uncomfortable’ is communists!” he barked.

 

“There’s my Janey,” Demoman said, relieved and motioning to the bed, “Alrigh’. Well, ye wake up earlier than me, so why don’t I get in first, ye? And so ye can take… ya know, out.” He tapped his own ears gently, too unsure of Soldier’s mental state right now to say the words “hearing aids” out loud.

 

“Oh… right,” Soldier muttered bashfully, “Yes, that would be the best position for us.”

 

Demoman crawled onto the creaky mattress and under the thin blanket- both courtesy of the ever-generous Reliable Excavation and Demolition- and scooted until his back was touching the wall. With a deep breath, Soldier climbed in after him, but didn’t take out his hearing aids yet. Demoman reached over his mate to switch off the lamp and settled back into bed with his hands to himself.

 

God, how badly he wanted to touch Soldier, just to feel the caress of his skin and toned muscles against his own hairy form. How badly he wanted to explore every inch of Soldier’s body until he knew it like the back of his hands. How badly he wanted to throw off both of their clothes and make sweet love until the Sun came up.

Though right now wasn’t about Demoman. Right now, everything had to be about Soldier. And that was enough, even if he craved physical intimacy more than his beloved scrumpy. So instead, they lied there for a bit in total silence. Soldier ran his hand back and forth on the fabric of the sheets like trying to scrub away his anxieties, deep in thought.

 

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” Soldier muttered at some point.

 

“Ye?” Demoman said, “’bout what?”

 

“Stuff,” Soldier replied, shrugging.

 

“Stuff?” Demoman asked.

 

“Yeah,” Soldier mused, “Like my old life when I wasn’t a cripple. When I could hear like everybody else.”

 

Demoman sighed. “Jane, yer not a ‘cripple,’” he assured, “Medic givin’ ye a hard time again?”

 

Soldier shook his head, pulling the sheets around himself. “No, he has said no such thing since we teamed up in December. We settled our differences, and we now have a mutual respect. I just… I’ve also been thinking about my family. Mom, and my brother John. And…”

 

“And?” Demoman urged, a pit forming in his stomach from an incoming answer he knew was true.

 

“M-My… my father,” Soldier finished quietly.

 

That’s what Demoman was afraid of. Soldier hardly ever talked about his past, as he was basically on his own from this point after everyone in his family was now six feet under. Though he very clearly remembered when Soldier first brought it up, a bit before he completely lost his hearing. They were sitting on the roof of their base, sharing some drinks and laughing about their childhoods.

 

_“Oh, ho ho ho, stop, stop Jane!” Demoman cackled, holding his face to prevent any beer coming through his nose as he stomped his feet on the roof, “’m gunnae puke! No more!”_

_“So, John’s panicking like some distressed house wife, so he sticks a ball cap on my head to hide my partially shaved head,” Soldier says, “We got rid of the evidence, and everything was fine- at first. Our mom came home and shrieked, and just told us to admit to Dad that we used his razor. Well, honesty at least got us somewhere when Dad got home. He only used the belt that time, and the next day he took us to his personal barber to get buzzcuts- the cut of a true American!”_

_Demoman stopped laughing when he heard something off about that retelling. His face fell, and his brow knit when ne noticed the slightest change in Soldier’s tone when he got to that part. “Uh… **only** tha belt?” he said._

_“Yeah,” Soldier replied, his shoulders hunching, “Usually he just used his fists. What, your dad never roughed you up as a kid?”_

_“N-No…” Demoman confirmed, shaking his head._

_Soldier stared at the drink in his lap, then at the setting sun across the desert before them. “Oh, okay,” he murmured. He ended up changing the conversation to his new rocket launcher only thirty seconds later, as if nothing ever happened._

“Do ye wannae talk ‘bout it?” Demoman questioned.

 

“Not really,” Soldier responded, “I have not been sleeping well lately- it’s hurting my performance in battle. So, I thought if I slept with you… that it would go away.”

 

The room was quiet for several minutes. The moonlight was filtering through thin curtains, bouncing off the various trinkets and clothes Demoman sloppily scattered around his room on every surface possible. The back of Soldier’s head was also illuminated, making his clean haircut shine like miniature diamonds.

 

“Jane?” Demoman said, “Do ye mind… if I touch you?”

 

Soldier glanced over his shoulder and nodded when he rested his head back down. “That is okay,” he replied.

 

Demoman breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. “I’m gunnae wrap my arms around ye and pull ye close,” he guided, “Tell me if ye want me ta stop.”

 

He coiled his arms delicately around Soldier’s muscular torso, lightly brushing against those abs that drove Demoman crazy. Slowly but surely, he pulled Soldier into a spooning position, legs intertwining and Demoman resting his head on Soldier’s shoulder, breathing out a content sigh. Soldier remained stiffer than Demoman would have preferred but wasn’t rejecting the embrace, so that was a step up.

 

“How’s that feel?” Demoman asked against Soldier’s skin.

 

“Warm,” Soldier said.

 

Demoman chuckled. “Ah, that’s me mum’s side,” he explained, “Naturally radiators, they are.” He shifted his hips a bit farther out to prevent the threat of accidentally popping a boner on Soldier’s back when he’s supposed to be comforting. “Can I… can I kiss ye?”

 

It was pitch black in the room, but Demoman could just _feel_ Soldier’s face flush from where he was. The other man nodded anyways. “That’s also fine.”

 

The first peck on Soldier’s shoulder was lightly and quick as he waited for any potential backlash. When Soldier also let out a content sigh, Demoman began placing more wet kisses leading up to Soldier’s jawline, where he did the same thing. He rubbed Soldier’s chest that was covered by his thin muscle tank top, drinking in all the sounds and feelings he got from kissing his partner.

 

“I luv ya, mate,” Demoman sighed as he pulled Soldier’s head closer to get at his cheeks, “Ya know that, right?”

 

“Mmm-hm,” Soldier grunted, “Er, Tavish?”

 

Demoman froze. “Ye?” he said, “What is it, lad?”

 

“What if I forget where I am when I wake up?” Soldier asked, fidgeting under the covers, “Would you hate me if I accidentally punched you when I wake up? What if I wake up and still believe I’m back home?”

 

“That won’t happen,” Demoman assured, placing another sickly-sweet kiss on Soldier’s jawline and then caressing Soldier’s cheek, “I’ll be right here when ye wake up, and I won’t move until yer awake. And even if ye do hit me, I can take it. I’m grown, and I’ve had my fair share of bruises from the field.”

 

Soldier nodded, smiling into Demoman’s warm palm. “Affirmative,” he said with a yawn at the end. He shifted temporarily to take his hearing aids out and setting them on the night stand nearby before settling back into Demoman’s arms. “Goodnight, private.”

 

“G’night, Jane,” Demoman mumbled before sleep overtook him.

 

\----

 

The morning light of the bi-weekly ceasefire streamed in from the windows, going right into Demoman’s eye and awaking him. He yawned and scratched his scraggly beard to bring to himself to reality. To his surprise, Soldier was still in his bed, but now he was facing Demoman and was wide awake, those big blue eyes staring directly into his heart.

 

Demoman smiled and stroked the side of Soldier’s face with his index side. “Mornin’, luv,” he whispered, “Sleep good?”

 

“Yeah,” Soldier replied, the tips of his ears going red, “You still snore.”

 

“Wha- oh, yeah, as I’ve been told,” Demoman said, caught off guard, “Wait, how’d you hear that? Did ye keep yer things in all night?”

 

“No, sir,” Soldier replied, shaking his head with a grin, “I could feel you purr. Didn’t have a single nightmare last night- no father, no bombs, nothing. Slept like a baby in its crib.”

 

Demoman blinked and sighed before placing a tender kiss on Soldier’s nose. “I think we finally found a sleep aid that works for ye, then.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is partially inspired by [this reddit post](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/422132177682038785/454076025941262336/unknown.png) that was so cute I wanted to die!!


End file.
